Well we all have issues with refs at on time or another, Mr Laughton in particular but after seeing the decision Steve Ganson made against HKR I must say I'm not surprised that they turn out as they do.
That, my friend, was indeed scandalous!

"no-one knows what it's like to be the bad man.........behind blue eyes"

The "apology" issued seems wholly insufficient. It was gross negligence on the part of Mr Ganson, and I can't see how he can be considered fit for post after that. Although Martyn Sadler's views on the issue in the RL press were almost equally as ludicrous!

He really has no defence since as the video ref he is privy to a number of different angles,slow mo and time to formulate the correct decision. He didn't and as Steve Wild says it was negligent.
My gripe with this is how the RL can just glibly offer an apology and not do anything about the result. Had this been a last game of the season and a loss resulted in relegation then it could have proved catastrophic for Hull KR.
In my opinion at the very least points should be shared or a rerun of that fixture.
As for Ganson he should join Ronnie Laughton and change code to Association Football.

Sorry, cant agree with you on 1 point Marshy and that is that, no matter what happened, the result must stand.
Ganson has had his chances in the past and has proved to be a buffoon at times.
Gross negligence, gross misconduct, bringing the game into disrepute, call it what you will but its a red card offence, sine die!
This was not a spur of the moment decision, he had time and facility to analyse the occurrence.
Steve, please leave the field.......and take Ronnie with you!

"no-one knows what it's like to be the bad man.........behind blue eyes"

The poor refereeing standards aren't helped by the idiotic comments from Stevo who not only has his own vocabulary (reefed does not and never has meant stealing ) but also his own rulebook
I find the current referees arrogance most annoying. They're all like that...only George Stokes appears a normal person. As for his refereeing ability. ..

The game can't take the place without the turnstile operator or, in the case of my club - the man who clears the dog "dirt" off the pitch so, the "there is no game without the ref" philosophy does not wash with me. I would not do the job myself so I give referee's resect for that and I like to praise them when they do well, as I did recently in League Express, but they should not be beyond taking criticism. Some of the young referees seem to be just extensions of the law book, and are not allowed to use common sense. When was the last time you saw a referee smile, or look like he was enjoying the game? I used to enjoy talking to referee's after games and getting their point of view, but the current referee's coming to my club rarely stay after the game, not even for food. I have a bigger "gripe" with touch judges though. They may as well not be there in Super League, and at amateur level they more often than not seem to be kids just out for pocket money. Go on then Stephen have a go back at me! At Crusaders .v. Doncaster last season Jamie Bloom had a decent game in the middle but was badly let down by some shocking decisions from his touch judges that more than likely cost Crusaders at least a point. The following Saturday Jamie was officiating at Hunslet Warriors .v. Eccles. Apparently, he was responsible for his touch judges and after the video was reviewed Jamie was punished! I don't know what happened to the touch judges?

Going back to my other point re Mr Sadler, if you can get hold of this week's League Express please have a look at the last paragraph of his column because it beggars belief. Apparently Ganson's error is (quote) "a lesson to us all". Eh yer what? Just how I'm not sure! He then goes on to justify not having promotion & relegation in case a club gets relegated due to a bad refereeing decision! Give me strength! .Mr Sadler is using Ganson's incompetence to pursue a personal agenda against the sporting right of ambitious clubs in our division. There is no connection whatsoever and I find his views astonishingly badly presented.

A terrible mistake - a very clearly wrong call, one of the most basic rules in the book, with a direct impact on the result. Proof that even with ample technology and a video ref things can still go wrong. In general terms rugby league is one of the most challenging of all games to referee and some mistakes are inevitable. On some occasions coaches unfairly criticise referees for various reasons - such as trying to deflect attention from their own failings, or because they think it may help get the best out of the players at their disposal.

Unfair criticism of referees is a self-defeating thing in the long term, as if we end up with a situation where virtually nobody wants to give refereeing a go it will restrict the pool of refereeing talent available and that can only drive standards of match officialdom down.

Where Ganson and Laughton are concerned the problem starts with these guys believing they are centre stage at a match and wanting to be noticed, whereas the game ought to be all about the players and the best referees are the ones that fade into the background.

The game is a bit devoid of characters nowadays. but its not fitting for certain referees to try and fill that gap.

The ironic thing was, Ganson was dropped for his mistake and replaced by Ian Smith. He made a mistake just as bad in Thursday's Premier sports match with the offside try, when Moore passed the ball backwards it hit the Batley prop on the head, shooting forward, the Hunslet man who was in front of Moore when he passed simply picks the ball up and the rest is history...

Going back to my other point re Mr Sadler, if you can get hold of this week's League Express please have a look at the last paragraph of his column because it beggars belief. Apparently Ganson's error is (quote) "a lesson to us all". Eh yer what? Just how I'm not sure! He then goes on to justify not having promotion & relegation in case a club gets relegated due to a bad refereeing decision! Give me strength! .Mr Sadler is using Ganson's incompetence to pursue a personal agenda against the sporting right of ambitious clubs in our division. There is no connection whatsoever and I find his views astonishingly badly presented.

I was equally amazed by his argument. Shocking journalism. The only question we should be asking is if one man who cannot make a basic call with the luxury of various camera angles and replays can be in charge of referees. With Sadlers argument we shouldn't have a grand final either, as that could be decided by a poor ref decision.

With Sadlers argument we shouldn't have a grand final either, as that could be decided by a poor ref decision.

Good point.

Have never been a fan of the "Grand Final" concept personally. To me its another import from Australia, its adoption over here has been driven to a great extent by greed - especially a desire from the SL powers-that-be to fill Old Trafford and maximise income from their last match of the season.

The starting point ought to be a fixture list that sees each side play the others home and away. A league competition ought to first and foremost be a test of consistency over the whole season.

It gets even more questionable when a Grand Final is used at the lower levels to determine which club should get promoted.

There was nothing wrong with doing the end of season play offs for a seperate trophy, in the Premiership format. Still generated plenty of interest.

I agree. That a team can become champions after finishing 5th (as Leeds have done) is more of an affront to the sporting integrity of the game than a club missing out on a league position due to a bad refereeing decision.

Something we all seem to agree on.
The Champions of the league can only truly claim that title after amassing enough points to finish ahead of any rivals over a set period of time.
As it is now the winners of a glorified cup competition gain that title.